Wednesday 10th. July 2013

With the sunshine forecasted to last till at least lunchtime , I made an early start for Old Lodge Reserve on Ashdown Forest . I must admit , that when I arrived , I wondered if I had made the right decision , as although sunny , it was very windy , and unusually , didn't hear a single bird from the car park . I was almost half way along the top path before a Wren was heard , then the sound of a Stonechat drew me a bit further down the slope . That noise turned out to be a male , informing

anyone around that I was with the metallic 'chak-chak' . That call was echoed by it's probable mate ,

just to make sure that everyone knew I was there . There then followed a photo opportunity that I

couldn't say no to , when the female flew over and joined the male , and there they stayed 'chaking' away , until I was out of their territory . Just after the gully that runs left off the top path downhill , I caught up with a pair of female/juvenile Common Redstarts . I followed them along the top fenceline , but for every two paces I took towards them , they took the equivalent of three paces away

from me , so I had to settle on a 'from the back , over the shoulder shot' , with breakfast in the bill . I looked in on the pools on the way downhill , but all were bereft of any Odonata , with the lowest one being completely dried up . Even the slope down to the stream failed to produce any interest , most unusual . As I got to the bridge , a fellow enthusiast was just crossing to the far side , and we stopped to compare notes .Both sets were the same . He was from East Sussex , and was on site hoping for Odonata , but found little on the way to that point . We chatted about his equipment , a Nikon top of the range camera , with 500mm. lens , coupled with a 1.4 converter , taking it up to 700mm. , which made me feel most inadequate . At least the stream was sheltered from the wind , and before long a

dragonfly flew in , patrolled over the water for a while , then settled on overhanging vegetation on our bank . That was the bad news , the good news was that it was a Golden-ringed Dragonfly ,

exactly what I was hoping to find . The 700mm. lens was able to move to the far bank and still get almost full frame shots , but I had to stay where I was . It did work out well for me though , as a
female GrD flew in and started ovipositing a bit upstream from where I was standing . This was a

species first for me , and I must admit I was surprised to see the egg laying female dipping the end of

her abdomen into the shallow water , similar to Skimmers and Chasers . I had always assumed that like the other large dragonflies , the Hawkers , this species would deposit single eggs into materials on or around the water's edge . When I got home I checked the book and sure enough I read  'Hovering vertically above the stream, and plunging backwards in action that resembles a pneumatic drill , the female repeatedly and rapidly thrusts the tip of the abdomen downwards into the substrata , which may be gravel , mud or grass , at the stream edge' , another day of learning for me . Soon after the pair flew off upstream , no doubt to find another laying site . I headed back to the upper pools , hoping that there would be some interest , which was provided by at least 3 male and 2 female

Emperor Dragonflies . One of the females was busy ovipositing , while her mate fought of regular attempts by rival males to mate with her . When she finally moved on , the male was able to take a

well earned rest on his favourite perch . The only other species seen were Azure , Common Blue and

Large Red Damselflies and a few Four-spotted Chasers (one pictured) and the odd Broad-bodied Chaser . On the way back to the car park , the Stonechats were still around , but very little else . From Old Lodge I headed for the far side of Ashdown Forest , in search of Silver-studded Skipper butterflies , but a thorough search failed to find a single specimen , worrying . Before heading back to the car , I had a good look around the area and found a few bits of interest ,

Common Sundew / Drosera rotundifolia , in flower ,

a few Green Tiger Beetles / Cicindela campestris , were found , but just one photographed ,

a very fresh , light Large Skipper , nectaring of Cross-leaved Heath ,

and an equally fresh Small Tortoiseshell , were among the few butterflies seen ,

on a re-furbished pond , Arrowhead / Sagittaria sagittifolia , a member of the Water-plantain family ,

and finally , Yellow Dung-fly / Scathophaga stercoraria . I won't go into the background , suffice to say a small herd of cows passed by a few minutes earlier .